Audi gives us first glimpse of upcoming Q4 e-tron

Ingolstadt - Audi has released teaser sketches of its Q4 e-tron concept ahead of the vehicle's actual unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

As its name implies, the show car previews the electric version of Audi’s forthcoming, BMW X2 rivalling Q4 crossover, although at this stage we don’t know to what extent Audi will differentiate the styling of the electric and non-electric versions. Given the price premium that batteries still command, it is likely that Audi will do a bit of extra dressing up on the version that you can plug in. Or can't plug in if you are living in South Africa and reliant on Eskom for your electricity.

Given that this is an early preview, there’s no word on the Q4 e-tron’s powertrain or technologies, but the production model will almost certainly follow the electric quattro formula of having electric motors attached to both the front and back axles.

Interestingly the Q4 e-tron has conventional door mirrors rather than the camera based system seen on the bigger e-tron, and that’s something we’d put down to cost differentiation.

The interior still looks suitably digitised however, with an unusually wide central infotainment screen, a separate touchscreen for the ventilation controls and what looks like an updated version of Audi’s familiar digital instrument panel.

The Q4 e-tron is likely to hit the streets in around two years from now, while the conventional non-electric version will arrive before that, built around the MQB platform as per the latest Q3 crossover.